Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide. Current anticancer treatments have low specificity, affecting cancerous as well as normal cells. New therapeutic approaches, such as the use of viruses with cancer-selective killing properties (oncolytic viruses), are being explored.
In the United States, the number of cancer deaths among people younger than 85, surpasses the number of deaths due to heart disease (1) (Numbers in parentheses refer to the Bibliography which follows this section). Currently, there are many anti-cancer treatments, however, cure or long term remission and clinical success have come with significant toxic side effects, acute and chronic morbidity. The low efficacy attributed to anti-cancer treatment creates an urgent need for innovative therapeutic strategies.
One such strategy known as virotherapy, utilizes live viruses that have selective cancer-killing properties. However, oncolytic virotherapy is in its infancy and must overcome several obstacles before rendered as safe and effective for the management of cancer patients.
The art described in this section is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is “prior art” with respect to this invention, unless specifically designated as such. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 CFR §1.56(a) exists.